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Doctoring the Pitch



Date:
1926
Object Number:
M.1949.TN.5
Creator
Phyllis Emmerson (artist)
Production reason
on the instruction of Professor G H Hardy, F.R.S.
Material
oil on board
Size
59.5 x 73.4 cm
Object name
painting
Object category
pictures

Description

Night time scene of four men on the pitch at Lord’s. One stands next to a wheelbarrow, one holds a lantern while one pours liquid on to the ground. The last looks off to the left. Pavilion visible in the background.

Display caption

On a wicket reputed to be crumbling, Middlesex, thanks to the batting of R.H.Twining and J.W.Hearne, made over three hundred runs on the third day to win the match and the Championship for which Surrey were runners-up. Naturally there was considerable excitement over the outcome of the match and at the time it was suggested as a friendly joke that the Lord's ground staff had been engaged by Middlesex to 'doctor' the pitch during the previous night. This idea amused Professor Hardy sufficiently for him to commission a cartoon of the occasion.
Association:
Middlesex County Cricket Club (subject)
Surrey County Cricket Club
Related objects:
MCC/AAL/2/TEMP83 : Curator's correspondence relating to gifts to the MCC 1945-1960 donor surname Q-R